I also read a Passat email list, and the recall has been much discussed there.
As was mentioned, the problem seems to be the smaller oil pan, combined with engine placement (longitudinally) in that car, and the engine pulling around a larger car.
Part of the recall includes possible repair/replacement of the engine if it is all sludged up, but also specifies a change of oil change procedure including using synthetic oil (though people had caught dealers installing non-synthetic oil!), reducing the change interval, and using an old-school diesel oil filter (the huge one) to increase filtering ability as well as capacity of the overall system.
I hadn't heard of the problem being as prevalent on the 1.8T equipped golf/jetta cars. I think the difference is the oil pan size and fact that the turbo doesn't have to work as hard to pull the car around.
Dave Cook
--- On Wed, 12/29/10, Bryan Belman <dieselwesty at yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: Bryan Belman <dieselwesty at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] vw turbo recall? 1.8T
> To: "Tony and Lillie" <tonyandlillie1 at earthlink.net>
> Cc: "diesel fans" <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> Date: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 7:17 PM
> I know a guy that got a used Audi A4
> from a place for his 18 year old
> daughter. The turbo blew in just a few weeks, I think is
> was about blown when
> he got it but they were able to mask it somehow.
> then it really blew and stuff when in the head, parts of
> the turbo blades.
>> I was going to work on it for him but he sold it as is to
> some shop and took a
> total bath on the deal. I think he lost 3 grand on it.
>> Same issue for sure.
>> Gasser turbo's get real hot because of the EGT's.
>> I had the Audi 200 for years, the after-run water pump to
> keep pumping water
> thru the turbo never worked from when I got the car and
> I never really know what
> the pump was for until a few years later. So, I figured
> if it had not worked
> all those years it was not really worth fixing and it
> would not be cheap to
> replace the pump. The turbo was big on the car and the
> motor ran cool, or so it
> seemed.
>> Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
> 04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :<)
> 92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel, 5sp -- running :<)
> 82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :<)
> 70 Type 1 stock Elm Green Beetle -- Under Restoration :-)
>>>>> ________________________________
> From: Tony and Lillie <tonyandlillie1 at earthlink.net>
> To: Tad <tadc at europa.com>
> Cc: diesel fans <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> Sent: Wed, December 29, 2010 2:08:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] vw turbo recall? 1.8T
>> The TDI's don't have the sludge problem, that's why you can
> go 10k. The 1.8T's
> develop a lot more heat, that's a large part of their
> problem.
>> Yes, a synthetic will be more resistant to coking, and
> that's part of the
> solution. Proper cooldwon is also key.
>> As for cooldown, you can always get a turbo timer.
>> Ironically, while writing this email, I got a call from a
> guy traveling with oil
> pressure issues in his A4 1.8T. Go figure!!
>> Tony
> ----- Original Message -----
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] vw turbo recall? 1.8T
>>> Thanks for the correction about water cooling.
>>> I don't want to start an argument, but 10k changes on a
> TDI with proper oil
> don't seem to be an issue. Oil analyses after 10k
> typically come back as OK for
> continued service.
>>>> And of course some people would disagree that the
> factory "synthetic" is
> really synthetic at all... it makes me wonder if a run
> exclusively on a true
> group IV synth (or whatever it's called) would still have
> the sludging issue.
> It certainly should be more resistant to coking due to
> heat.
>>> I sure am glad to not have to worry about turbo cooldown
> on my TDI - I used to
> have a Mitsu Galant VR4 and worrying about cooldown all the
> time was a PITA.
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